The University of San Diego plans to train more students, faculty and staff to recognize the warning signs of suicide and expand prevention outreach efforts with a $300,000 federal grant over the next three years.

The Linda Vista campus also will reach out to parents to make sure they know what to look for and what campus resources are available, said Moisés Barón, assistant vice president for student wellness at USD. He said the campus experienced seven suicides in the past 15 years.

While there hasn’t been an increase in suicides, Barón said the goal is to create a community that is “informed and empowered” with many individuals on campus who know how to have conversations about mental health and suicide concerns.

“This is something that is always of concern to us,” Barón said. “We are doing a lot of work training our gatekeepers, our (resident advisers), our residential life staff, faculty and coaches just to be able to recognize the indicators of stress and to know how to respond.”

Barón said the goal also is to try to lessen the stigma students sometimes feel seeking help.

The funding comes at a time when several local colleges are collaborating with county health officials on the issue of suicide prevention. An awareness campaign dubbed “Not On My Watch” last month was presented to students at USD, San Diego State University, UC San Diego, California State University San Marcos, Mira Costa College, City College and Grossmont College.

About 1,100 college students in the U.S. kill themselves each year, according to the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, a federally funded organization that promotes prevention efforts.

Officials say warning signs of suicide include students expressing feelings of hopelessness, depression, agitation and feeling like they are a burden.

SDSU also is beefing up its prevention efforts, using a $383,000 two-year state grant it received in 2012, said Sandy Jorgensen-Funk, the director of Counseling and Psychological Services at SDSU. Jorgensen-Funk said she doesn’t have exact figures but said the SDSU campus typically has one to three suicides each year.

“I don’t think the number or suicide rates have changed abruptly on our campus, but I think there is an awareness that suicide is preventable and there are a lot of things we can do to prevent it,” Jorgensen-Funk said.

Officials have noticed an increase in the number of students seeking counseling services this year, which she said may be a reflection of the outreach efforts hitting home. “They could be becoming more aware of the resources,” she said.